FL Department Disputes Claim Over Surfside Collapse Audio Deletion

Officials with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue have challenged a report by USA Today alleging a department employee deleted radio traffic files chronicling rescue efforts during the Surfside condo collapse.

The audio in question focuses on efforts rescue members had with dispatchers in the early stages of the collapse and subsequent rescue efforts that killed 98 people.

Official with Miami-Dade fire contend the deletion was not intentional and have be able to remedy the issues by obtaining the audio via the on-line service Broadcastify, according to CBS 4 Miami.

“Miami-Dade County keeps records twice as long as required by state law. In an effort to back up the records permanently, an employee made a miscalculation in the timeframe the audio was available for retention, and ultimately failed to properly retain it during that period of time. No Miami-Dade County employee deliberately deleted any audio. The audio was unfortunately purged by the system after a certain time and not by an employee,” Erika Benitez, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue spokesperson said in a statement.